adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Sports

Paralympic viewing guide: Aurélie Rivard swims for another gold – CBC.ca

Published

 on


This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports’ daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what’s happening in sports by subscribing here.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are officially underway. Today’s opening ceremony at Japan’s National Stadium featured 162 flags — including those for the six-member refugee team and Afghanistan, whose athletes were unable to leave the country to compete after the Taliban regained power. Canada’s flag was carried by Priscilla Gagné, a medal contender in judo. One hundred and twenty-eight Canadian athletes, including guides, are set to compete in 18 different sports at these Games. Read more about the opening ceremony and watch highlights here

Competition begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET, with two dozen sets of medals to be awarded on Day 1. Here’s a guide to what to watch on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning:

300x250x1

Canada’s best Para swimmer goes for another gold

Aurélie Rivard is the reigning Paralympic and world champion and holds the world record in the women’s 50-metre freestyle S10 event (S10 refers to the disability classification), which begins with qualifying heats at 9:33 p.m. ET. The final goes at 6:12 a.m. ET.

Rivard, 25, also won gold in her 100- and 400-metre freestyle events at the 2016 Games in Rio and added a silver in the 200m individual medley to bring her career Paralympic medal count to five. That’s the most of any woman on the current Canadian team. Rivard also owns 14 world championship medals.

After the 50m freestyle, Rivard will defend her title in the 100m free on Saturday and the 400m free on Sept. 1. She’ll also compete in the 100m backstroke on Sept. 2 and the 200m individual medley on Sept. 3.

Four other Canadian swimmers are competing on Day 1: Alec Elliot (men’s 50m freestyle S10), Nicholas Bennett (men’s 100m butterfly S14), Angela Marina (women’s 100m butterfly S14) and Shelby Newkirk (women’s 50m freestyle S6). The latter three are making their Paralympic debuts.

WATCH | 5 Canadian Paralympians to watch for in Tokyo:

5 Canadian Paralympians to watch in Tokyo

11 hours ago

Learn about one of the greatest wheelchair basketball players of all time, a track cyclist making her Paralympic debut after an incredible recovery, the king of Para triathlon and more with CBC Sports host, Jacqueline Doorey. 2:44

Other Canadian contenders to watch on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning

In chronological order:

Women’s goalball: Canada vs. the Russian Paralympic Committee team at 9:30 p.m. ET

The women’s tournament opener looks like a tight matchup. Canada is ranked sixth in the world and Russia is seventh. Canada placed fourth at the most recent world championships, in 2018. The team is looking for its first Paralympic medal since it took back-to-back golds in 2000 and 2004.

Goalball, which is for athletes with visual impairments, is one of two Paralympic sports that does not have an Olympic equivalent (boccia is the other). It’s played on an indoor court, with soccer-like nets on each end that span the width of the playing surface. From just in front of their own net, athletes try to bowl the ball into their opponents’ net and block their opponents’ tosses. The ball has bells inside it to help players gauge where it is, and there are tactile markings on the court to help with orientation. Players and fans must remain completely silent so the ball can be heard. Read more about the Canadian team here and watch an explainer video on goalball here

Track cycling: Keely Shaw in the women’s C4 3,000m individual pursuit event

The 27-year-old has a chance to win Canada’s first medal of the Games. Shaw took silver in this event at the 2019 world championships and finished fourth in 2020. She’ll make her Paralympic debut when the qualifying round starts at 9:56 p.m. ET. The final is at 1 a.m. ET.

Women’s wheelchair basketball: Canada vs. Great Britain at 1:45 a.m. ET

Canada won five of the six women’s world championships held from 1994-2014 before losing in the quarter-finals in 2018 — the most recent time the tournament was held. Great Britain took silver in 2018, losing to the Netherlands in the title game. Canada’s last Paralympic medal in women’s wheelchair basketball was a bronze in 2004, which came on the heels of three consecutive golds.

Wheelchair rugby: Canada vs. Great Britain at 4:30 a.m. ET

Also known as murderball because of the violent collisions that can happen, wheelchair rugby is a mixed event at the Paralympics. Canada has never won gold, but it has reached the podium in four of the six tournaments held. The team lost the bronze game to Japan in 2016 in Rio, then placed sixth at the most recent world championships, in 2018.

For the full schedule of Canadians competing on each day of the Games, go here.

How to watch live events

A variety of sports will be streamed live on CBC Gem, the CBC Sports app and CBCSports.ca starting at 8 p.m. ET. See the detailed schedule, which will include links to watch the events when they go live, here.

You can also watch competitions on the CBC TV network from 3-5 p.m., 7-8 p.m. and 12:30-2:30 a.m. in your local time

More on the Paralympics

Read a primer on the Tokyo Games here, and some fun facts about the Canadian team here. Read more about how Canada’s athletes are approaching the Games, which are happening a year late and during Japan’s worst wave of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, in this story by CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux. Devin is in Tokyo covering the Games, and you can follow his tireless Twitter updates here

You’re up to speed. Talk to you tomorrow.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

Published

 on


Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

300x250x1

With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

Published

 on


TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

300x250x1

Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

Published

 on

The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

300x250x1

Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending